Ahh I have so many thoughts to share! All good things, all good things.
When we face trails in this life, the Word of God says to count them ALL as joy. God allows us to suffer in order to produce a steadfast faith within us (James 1:1-2). Jesus is our Great High Priest who can fully relate to our earthly suffering. He knows “in every respect” (Hebrews 4:15). When we face hardship, we can unite our suffering with Christ’s suffering on the cross. Our brokenness brings incredible intimacy with our Savior. Uniting our sufferings (no matter how big or small) with Christ’s own suffering draws us near to Him in hard times rather than drawing away from God in anger or fear.
The very hardest thing we go through in life still pales in comparison to the immense suffering Jesus endured for us. 1 Peter 4 tells us that we must, “rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” 2 Corinthians 1:5 says, “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
The great news is that as believers, we can unite in both Jesus’ suffering and in His eternal victory. When we are on the “mountain tops” in life, it is important to see the beauty in trials and to meditate on what God’s Word has to say about them. That way, when we face hardship we will be fully equipped with the tools to battle the lies of the enemy.
This is a little bit of the morning devotion God led me to share with my team the second day we were in Chiang Mai. My team felt like we were on the “mountain top” coming from a great month in India, and this word from God was exactly what we needed in order to gear up.
God brought this devotion to my mind during my first day in the hospital, and it brought me a lot of peace and comfort. I knew this word was timely, but now I know just how perfect His timing truly is.
This is only one of the many things the Lord has revealed to me as I have reflected with Him over the last several days!
- He has reminded me that He is the Good Shepherd who lovingly cares for His sheep. During the two scariest moments on my race (this and getting robbed), God has given me peace through Psalm 23. This scripture was brought to my mind in both instances! I mean how cool is that?
- During the beginning of this month, God was whispering in my ear that I was an overcomer. He was speaking that over me, so I spoke it over myself at the Awakening during a women’s session. He’s known all along what I would need to overcome with His help.
- I mentioned in an earlier blog that God seemed to tell me to, “be still and know” while I was at the hospital. Well, yesterday I found two pieces of paper I had written to give out to my squad mates, but had chosen to keep since I had made too many. Finding these papers which I had forgotten about felt like kisses from Jesus himself!
Right when I got hurt, all I could feel was frustration and anger. “Not again”, I thought. It just didn’t make sense why I had been physically attacked all month, and now this was the cherry on top. I thought about all the times that healing had been prayed over me this month. We prayed before and after every (attempted) run. I prayed on the way to the water park. I even decided not to wakeboard at the park so I wouldn’t have a chance of getting hurt. Hah.
All of this just tells me that God’s will is better than my will – regardless. Regardless if mine insures safety, and His includes pain. Regardless of whether I’ve prayed with authority in His name. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and His ways are higher than my ways. I trust Him because He’s always proved faithful.
I used to think that God had nothing to do with pain. I am now quite confident that God has everything to do with pain. If he had nothing to do with it then He wouldn’t be in control or sovereign. Pain isn’t the absence of God or the absence of God’s love. He is always loving us perfectly even when we can’t understand. He orchestrates and allows pain and suffering to bring about our good and ultimately His glory.
It is easy to love God when He gives you everything you need and you find yourself living a comfortable life free of hardship. Yet it’s another thing to love and praise your Heavenly Father when he allows intense suffering to shape you and mold you into a reflection of His Son. If we didn’t go through hard times, why would we need a Savior?
Francis Chan says that “today’s trial is tomorrow’s maturity.” That trials are the purification process. Without them, how are we to be made more like Christ? Hardships in life help us develop a spiritual muscle we may need later. God does not just want to make us happy… He wants to make us holy!
Yesterday I stumbled upon a devotion by Max Lucado, and God used Him as a vessel to speak to me about God’s purpose for pain. He painted a picture of a beautifully elaborate tapestry, each human as one thread. Woven together, we are creating a masterpiece that serves His purpose and reveals God’s character. Whether we think of ourselves as a weak thread or strong one, we are all intertwined and connected. Our pain and difficulties may be what increases our intimacy with God, or what is calling others to Him for the first time.
Even if this injury is for the sole purpose of stirring something within one person who reads these blogs, it will have been worth it.
Even if this injury was for the sole purpose of someone having an avenue to share Jesus with their coworkers, it will have been worth it.
Even if this injury was for the sole purpose of my family working together, it will have been worth it.
Even if this injury is for the sole purpose of seeing just how loved and cared for I am by my community here and back home, it will have been worth it.
How sweet of the Lord to give me tiny glimpses of how my “thread” is intertwined with others to accomplish God’s purposes!
- One last thing that I realized was not a coincidence at all, is that the Lord led me to read about Job in two different books last week before my birthday. When the second book started going into Job, I considered skipping over it, but decided against it and read on. I don’t pretend to think that my pain is even .01% of the suffering Job experienced, but I learned a lot from his testimony. God gave Job the only thing that he was lacking and couldn’t have received in heaven. The chance to have faith in His goodness. When we see Jesus face to face in heaven, faith will be a thing of the past. With faith, trials in this life go from unnecessary difficulties to unexpected opportunities for intimacy with our creator.
This week has been challenging no doubt, and I often fail to have an eternal perspective. It’s easier said than done to welcome trials with joy as they come, but I truly am thankful for what has happened!
I am also so thankful for my sweet family and friends who have fervently prayed for me and encouraged me to kingdom come.
Over and out,
Julia
